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Donnie Walsh: "We have to go up a level"

Donnie Walsh didn't have to return to an NBA front office position. Now 71, he spent last year relaxing at his Indianapolis home with his wife and dogs.

At the same time, Walsh wasn't going to turn down an opportunity if the right situation arose.

That opportunity came late last month when Indiana Pacers owner Herb Simon needed to replace team President Larry Bird.

Simon could have gone outside the organization, but he puts a premium on trust. That's why he turned to Walsh, who spent 24 years with the Pacers before leaving in 2008 to become president of the New York Knicks.

"People used to call me up and say, 'You must want to get back in.' I really didn't want to," Walsh said recently from his office at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. "I enjoyed doing nothing. I did it very well. Me coming back here really happened very fast."

Walsh, who has made a flurry of moves in his first month on the job, offered opinions on a variety of subjects.

Question: Was there any hesitation in coming back?

Answer: "No, not at all. The minute Herb asked me, I told him I'll come back. We didn't discuss terms or anything like that. We'll always have a handshake agreement. I had to talk to Larry first. He told me he was going to go away for a year. I told him, 'I'll be here, and whenever you want to come back, you come back.' I want him to come back."

Q: How much did you miss the NBA last season?

A: "I had done this for almost 30 years straight with no break. It wears you down, so most of the year I was glad I was off because I hadn't been off before. I really felt like it cleared up my head. You can get worn down with this, so when I came back, I was feeling fresher. I remember coming in the door and thinking, 'What am I doing here?' But once I got in the groove, I got into it again."

Q: Are you the same workaholic as before?

A: "Oh yeah. I'm going to do it the same. I just may not be in as early and not as late as before. I get in around 10 a.m. and stay until about 6 p.m."

Q: Most front office people bring in their own personnel. But it was pretty obvious that general manager Kevin Pritchard would be elevated in the front office. How much did you know about him before this?

A: "I had dinner with Kevin when I first came back. I really didn't know him when I came in. Larry had already recommended him to Herb, (former general manager) David Morway was already gone, so when I walked in here, I knew he was going to be here. I've really enjoyed working with him. He's exactly the kind of guy I want to work with. I still make some calls, but he's really good at working the phones. I think sharing ideas -- he's been a general manager before -- is great. The way I see myself doing the job now, he's a perfect fit for me. I've got confidence in him. He's somebody I really enjoy talking about basketball with him."

Q: How is the franchise different from when you left in 2008?

A: "It's rebuilt. Not all the way, but it's getting there. They have a very good starting team. I think the feeling was when I got here we needed to strengthen our bench. If nothing else, getting positions we didn't have that were missing. I think we've done that. We had to make that trade (with Dallas) to get a big guy. Then we had to get a point guard to replace (Darren) Collison."

Q: Training camp is still about two months away. Are you happy with the way the roster looks today?

A: "We're going to spend the rest of the summer looking to see if there's anything else we can do. The reason is, you have to look at the other teams. I think New York is going to be better. Miami is going to be better. Miami ended up developing into a team. That's why they won the title last season. Brooklyn is going to be better. We have to go up a level. This team has taken a step each of the past two years. This team is together. They are really committed to trying to become a contending team.

Q: What other areas do you need to address on the roster?

A: "I don't want to get into it because I don't want to point fingers at any one position. I think we may be shy in a couple of areas. As you get closer to training camp, there are going to be players left out that are good. You want to be ready to get one of them."

Q: You wouldn't think this franchise made it to the second round of the playoffs last season with the way fans have questioned some of your decisions so far. What's your reaction to the criticism?

A: "I would tell them what I told them when I went through it the first time, and that is, 'Don't make judgments today based on what you think; wait until you see the team play.' I said that about Chuck Person and Reggie Miller. I notice a reaction right away when fans don't like something. Give it a chance, because I think we have the makings of a good team. That's the object. The object is not to get names you hear every day. It's about getting better. The one thing you don't want to do is mess up the strength of a team. The strength of this team is they all get along, they all play hard, they play together."

"I'd run through a brick wall for that man."
- Roy Hibbert on playing for Coach Frank Vogel

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Re: Donnie Walsh: "We have to go up a level"

As long as the front office and ownership are really willing to do what it takes to 'go up a level' I'll be fine. I don't want any Jermaine O'Neal promises that aren't seen through to fruition. Show me the money.

Re: Donnie Walsh: "We have to go up a level"

A: "I don't want to get into it because I don't want to point fingers at any one position. I think we may be shy in a couple of areas. As you get closer to training camp, there are going to be players left out that are good. You want to be ready to get one of them."

Hey at least nobody can't say that the Pacers don't go after "left out players"

Re: Donnie Walsh: "We have to go up a level"

I have the utmost respect for Donnie, I truly do. But you can't play up your title-less multiple decade resume and expect educated fans to just lap it up. I have absolutely no doubt that Donnie Walsh (and Pritchard) are infinitely capable of building a "good team."

But it's not enough. It's why I get so frustrated when I see people reference the good things Donnie did in his first stint (if you can call it a "stint") here. He's good at his job, I'm grateful he was our GM for so long and took us to the playoffs as a small market in 16 out of 17 years or whatever it was.

But I want a championship. I want to be the best team in the league, not 5th best, not making the conference finals 3 outta 4 years. I want the Pacers to have an NBA title. And I'd LOVE if Donnie got to hold the O'Brien trophy over his head and look in the camera and tell me to eat a dick. I just don't think it's in him, nor unfortunately Mr. Simon. That's not a blight on Herb, but he's an old man now trying to keep his retail business afloat in an extremely different economy from when he built it. His interests are elsewhere, and you can't blame him for that.

I just can't shake this feeling of the franchise perpetually being cool with "good enough."

Re: Donnie Walsh: "We have to go up a level"

I have the utmost respect for Donnie, I truly do. But you can't play up your title-less multiple decade resume and expect educated fans to just lap it up. I have absolutely no doubt that Donnie Walsh (and Pritchard) are infinitely capable of building a "good team."

But it's not enough. It's why I get so frustrated when I see people reference the good things Donnie did in his first stint (if you can call it a "stint") here. He's good at his job, I'm grateful he was our GM for so long and took us to the playoffs as a small market in 16 out of 17 years or whatever it was.

But I want a championship. I want to be the best team in the league, not 5th best, not making the conference finals 3 outta 4 years. I want the Pacers to have an NBA title. And I'd LOVE if Donnie got to hold the O'Brien trophy over his head and look in the camera and tell me to eat a dick. I just don't think it's in him, nor unfortunately Mr. Simon. That's not a blight on Herb, but he's an old man now trying to keep his retail business afloat in an extremely different economy from when he built it. His interests are elsewhere, and you can't blame him for that.

I just can't shake this feeling of the franchise perpetually being cool with "good enough."

Had it not been for the Bulls and some guy named Michael Jordan, the Pacers probably would have won the title in 1998. Had it not been for the brawl, the Pacers may have won the title in 2004. They clearly had the best team in the league in 2004 and it was almost as good a team as the 1998 team was. Donnie built a winner here in Indy and yes, he made some mistakes along the way. But show me a President or a GM who hasn't made any mistakes.

Larry Bird came in and cleaned up a mess left over from the brawl. He turned a hapless franchise around and has built a great core of players who the fans respect and that play well together as a team. Who knows how long Donnie will be here, but he has a much better starting position than he had when he arrived here the first time. We can argue and speculate on what the FO could have done, would have done or should have done, but he speaks the truth when he says that we should wait until we see this team play. I really liked the way the P's played this past season. They are a young group of players who will go through their growing pains. But how quickly we forget how that young team had the NBA Champs down 2-1 in the playoffs before Lebron woke up and went on an absolute tear (and the refs aided them every step of the way too).

Indy will never be able to lure a Lebron, a DWill or a Dwight Howard here via free agency. It doesn't matter if the team is being run by Larry Bird, Donnie Walsh or God. Being in a small market has it's obvious drawbacks and the true superstars don't want to play in Indy. The only way the P's land a superstar will be through the draft and we all know how the P's have had such great luck when it comes to being in the lottery. I want to see the P's win a championship as bad as the next guy, and I think we're on the right track and headed in that direction. It probably isn't going to happen this year or the next, but at least it's finally on that trajectory. The P's have a talented young core of players and the starting 5 is a tough group of guys who play very, very well together. The P's didn't land the 3rd seed in the east or have the 5th best record in the league because they sucked. They improved their bench, added depth at much needed positions and should finish in the top 4 in the east again. I don't think Donnie's going to be here long enough to make a huge improvement or muck things up too much either. But I don't think Donnie is as big a problem as Mr. Simon is.

Re: Donnie Walsh: "We have to go up a level"

Answer: "No, not at all. The minute Herb asked me, I told him I'll come back. We didn't discuss terms or anything like that. We'll always have a handshake agreement. I had to talk to Larry first. He told me he was going to go away for a year. I told him, 'I'll be here, and whenever you want to come back, you come back.' I want him to come back."

2 things... Another confirmation of Bird taking a year off?
And I though the first story was it was BIRD that asked that Walsh come back?

Nuntius was right. I was wrong. Frank Vogel has retained his job.

------

"A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, thatís teamwork."

Re: Donnie Walsh: "We have to go up a level"

Actually, the Pacers have had decent production from bargain bin players. Earl Watson, Flip Murray, and Dale Davis in his second stint come to mind.

Of the remaining guys in FA, I think Landry will be a decent upgrade at backup PF. Fits with the team we're building here too. Not sure how much money it would take to land him though.

Would adore it, even if Landry'd gone to Idaho State or something. Our bench frontcourt needs at least some sort of fairly consistent offensive option, that's a big blind spot for the FO as far as I'm concerned. Say West sprains an ankle and is out for a couple weeks. Hibbert double teams all day. That's my biggest hope for next year, when Roy gets hung out to dry outside the lane/up on the high block just cut to the hoop. Hill did it fairly well to start then that kind of faded. Not structured stuff, just basic basketball principles need to get instilled. "Monster with a decent J's stranded, CUT, and then CUT again."

Roy's got an OK jumper out to 16ish feet, but he really is a stellar big man passer, I hope we take immense advantage of it, specifically some weak side screen stuff to get Danny open on the opposite end.

Re: Donnie Walsh: "We have to go up a level"

I have had to listen to this guy since the summer of 1985. That should strike at a lot of you seeing as how a lot of you weren't even born then.

It's like Groundhogs day, over and over and over again.

Nothing changes, even the words are the same.

THIS.

TPTB criticize fans because they don't believe, but we've seen it before.

When have they made a risky move that they thought could take the team to a true championship level?

As the team stands right now, they're lacking a big time scorer. I truly believe if an asset was traded in an effort to bring back that type of player, those of us who were critical would give them a true chance. Yet that hasn't happened.

I don't buy that this team cannot make a move.

Consider this: What if the team put both David West (and his expiring contract) and Danny Granger on the trading block to bring back a single talent for the future? If the hypothetical trade was made, you'd see the following:

The team immediately wouldn't be as good as before, but you'd see probably true potential to compete in the future. Yet this team seems content to compete with the talent as is. I don't believe they're talented enough.

I still have hope for the future though. Next season for instance the team could put a lot of effort in replacing David West with Josh Smith. I think that could possibly give this team a true chance to compete. Although not as offensively talented as the top tier, that team defensively would be superior to any team in the NBA. It'd be a true vision that we could buy into.

I think what I'm really getting at is if the team has a vision towards truly competing, and makes a concerted effort to reach those particular goals, fans will be behind it. But what vision do they have? Besides continually counting on the same talent that already got beat, to somehow surpass their potential. That is illogical.

And competing is all that is asked for. Take OKC- If they were to go lose in the finals to Miami each of the next 4 years (unlikely, but play along) I don't think anyone could blame them. They have everything a championship team needs. Dominate scoring. The athletic ability to matchup with any team in the NBA defensively, (even if that doesn't mean they necessarily translate to a great defensive team- matchups matter more in this case).

I think if the Pacers announced that Deron Williams this offseason was a major priority, and they made a major offer, (despite his supposed preferences) Pacers fans would have been extremely happy even if Deron came right out and said "I have no interest in Indiana." That would have shown the Pacers recognized a need for a talent upgrade and they made an effort. That didn't happen though.

Instead they overpaid Hill knowing that the team could at least maintain their current talent level. That just isn't right.

Take a look at our other local team.

Jim Irsay over the last decade made every move possible to make the Colts contenders. They *only* won one Superbowl. Yet the moves were made to allow that team to compete. They didn't play the loyalty card to guys who couldn't get the job. See how Vanderjagt was run out of town because he couldn't cut it. A front office MUST have that mentality.

I love the pickup of Green, Ian, and DJ. I think all of those are very smart, savvy pickups. With that said, this team could have actively at least made an effort to upgrade the starting five as well. That just didn't happen.

We'll see how this season goes and what we'll need coming into next season. But I can tell you, that if this team just blindly resigns West next season instead of going after Josh Smith, a player who is superior to West in about every possible way yet similarly priced, I'll be extremely upset.

I love loyalty. But sometimes they have too much loyalty to guys who just aren't getting the job done. As much as everyone loves each one of our starting five this team has their are these following weaknesses that must be addressed in some way. They are as follows:

*A gifted scorer
*Rebounding and defense from the PF position (sorry to pick on West, but the fact is he is NOT providing the defense and rebounding this team will need to beat Miami

Technically from a scoring aspect, you could consider each and everyone of the starting five an expendable asset. Since none of them provide that particular need, each one of them could be considered expendable if it mean bringing in that particular asset that can score.

And defensively I think every player except David West adequately defends their position to compete with the best.

This doesn't mean we all aren't excited about the incredible turn around this team has had. Doesn't mean fans are unappreciative. But I think I can speak for most of the fans on this board who are underwhelmed with this teams offseason moves. I am suggesting, that WE just don't want this team to be a good team that loses in the second round of the playoffs for the next 6 years. I'd say that if a move wasn't made to at least try to take this team to the next level, fans would be right when they're disappointed.

Last edited by mattie; 07-24-2012 at 07:43 AM.

Find me on the internets @mattiecolin

Read it and weep:

When George Hill is above 15% usage we won 73.5% of games. Below 15% usage we won 61.9%

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Re: Donnie Walsh: "We have to go up a level"

I mean only one team wins it each year, its a finite number of championships. Yes its the goal, but its everyones goal, every year. The other guys are on scholarship too. You do HAVE to be good then be great, it is a building process or you get incredibly lucky and get the number one pick in a year that the #1 or #2 pick is Durant or Lebron. When people say just need to go for championships, and all due respect Heisenberg and Peck, what the hell do you think they are trying to do? There's no magic elixir. Pat Riley and Spoelstra didn't 'will' the Heat to the ring, two guys decided to stack the deck and it worked. It just wears on me, its so Indy call in sports talk radio.

Re: Donnie Walsh: "We have to go up a level"

I wonder if any of the skeptics out there note that Walsh said Miami, NY and Brooklyn will all be better this year. Add Chicago and Boston to that mix and you will see why some of us keep saying that as they are right now, the Pacers are a fifth or sixth seed. An injury to any of the teams could change all of that and make the Pacers higher or lower....... ... Shift+R improves the quality of this image. CTRL+F5 reloads the whole page.

Re: Donnie Walsh: "We have to go up a level"

I mean only one team wins it each year, its a finite number of championships. Yes its the goal, but its everyones goal, every year. The other guys are on scholarship too. You do HAVE to be good then be great, it is a building process or you get incredibly lucky and get the number one pick in a year that the #1 or #2 pick is Durant or Lebron. When people say just need to go for championships, and all due respect Heisenberg and Peck, what the hell do you think they are trying to do? There's no magic elixir. Pat Riley and Spoelstra didn't 'will' the Heat to the ring, two guys decided to stack the deck and it worked. It just wears on me, its so Indy call in sports talk radio.

People want to see the potential ceiling of this team to be raised. That's it. It doesn't matter if the team is sitting at 25 wins a season. If they have all the potential in the world? That means everything.

Right now, though I am not certain, I assume Peck and Heisenberg believe this team has a ceiling to be no better than the 3rd or 4th best team in the NBA. On the other hand there are quite a few opposing teams that have unlimited potential. And I don't just mean Miami and OKC.

Edit- Here's a question, who do you think is more excited about this season, Hornets fans or Pacers fans?? I'd bet Hornets fans are! Even though everyone KNOWS the Pacers will be better. But Why?

Because the Hornets truly have a foundation to compete with ANYONE in the future. They really do. Who knows how it'll play out. The Brow could be a flop, EJ could never be healthy etc.. but they truly do have a foundation to compete with anyone. The Pacers look like they could have possibly peaked with the team constructed as is. If no one is willing to try to upgrade the team, isn't that disappointing?

Last edited by mattie; 07-24-2012 at 08:17 AM.

Find me on the internets @mattiecolin

Read it and weep:

When George Hill is above 15% usage we won 73.5% of games. Below 15% usage we won 61.9%

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Re: Donnie Walsh: "We have to go up a level"

I also love the part where he is telling people that they have been wrong before like the time he drafted Reggie and nobody wanted him, how long ago that s*** happened? he is trying to prove people wrong by telling them that he was right one time 30 years ago? SMH.

Re: Donnie Walsh: "We have to go up a level"

[QUOTE=mattie;1487153]THIS.

Jim Irsay over the last decade made every move possible to make the Colts contenders. They *only* won one Superbowl. Yet the moves were made to allow that team to compete. They didn't play the loyalty card to guys who couldn't get the job. See how Vanderjagt was run out of town because he couldn't cut it. A front office MUST have that mentality

The Colts had one superstar they built around and never ventured into free agency other then Adam V. They always overvauled their own players outside of linbackers and running backs. Your statement has no legs. you seem fixated on this whole trade for a superstar thing yet who in there right mind would want Granger or a 30 something PF for a bonafide game changer it takes 2 to tango.

Re: Donnie Walsh: "We have to go up a level"

You know, Donnie could get every player in the league except LBJ, Kobe, Wade, Howard, and Durant and people would still complain he didn't build a championship team because those guys would beat the Pacers.

Whatever. You have to get to the finals before you can win the championship. You have to get to the second round before you can get to the finals. Unless you are spending $100M to buy a championship and let the team go the next year, you have to build a team from pieces.

We've gone from "Donnie Do-Nothing" who makes no moves at all to "Donnie Do-Nothing" who signed two in-house RFAs instead of letting them walk, made a multi-player trade, and signed two FAs who have been on everyone's radar for a number of years. OK, fine, I understand people think these moves weren't enough, we should have extorted NO into not matching EJ and then signed him to a max to be our next Jon Bender, but how is this "do nothing"?

This is all about "Donnie didn't get the guy I think is the magic bullet", not "Donnie didn't do anything to try to improve the team".

BillS

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Or throw in a first-round pick and flip it for a max-level point guard...

Re: Donnie Walsh: "We have to go up a level"

Here's a question, who do you think is more excited about this season, Hornets fans or Pacers fans?? I'd bet Hornets fans are! Even though everyone KNOWS the Pacers will be better. But Why?

Because the Hornets truly have a foundation to compete with ANYONE in the future. They really do. Who knows how it'll play out. The Brow could be a flop, EJ could never be healthy etc.. but they truly do have a foundation to compete with anyone. The Pacers look like they could have possibly peaked with the team constructed as is. If no one is willing to try to upgrade the team, isn't that disappointing?

So a team with high potential that falls completely apart is better than a team that is stable and has a more gradual upside?

Damn, we should have been selling out the year Ron-Ron came back from the brawl. Oh, yeah, that's right, since Donnie put that team together it was totally unrisky and boring and had no potential at all.

BillS

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Or throw in a first-round pick and flip it for a max-level point guard...

Re: Donnie Walsh: "We have to go up a level"

Edit- Here's a question, who do you think is more excited about this season, Hornets fans or Pacers fans?? I'd bet Hornets fans are! Even though everyone KNOWS the Pacers will be better. But Why?

Because the Hornets truly have a foundation to compete with ANYONE in the future. They really do. Who knows how it'll play out. The Brow could be a flop, EJ could never be healthy etc.. but they truly do have a foundation to compete with anyone. The Pacers look like they could have possibly peaked with the team constructed as is. If no one is willing to try to upgrade the team, isn't that disappointing?

I have to assume I am mis-reading your post. Are you suggesting that the Pacers are not willing to try to upgrade the team?

Re: Donnie Walsh: "We have to go up a level"

NY actually took a big step backwards by losing Lin. Brooklyn may be better than they were last season, but they were horrible last season. Chicago is a borderline playoff team w/o Rose, and Boston lost Ray Allen and is a year older. I don't see any of these teams leap-frogging the Pacers.

I wonder if any of the skeptics out there note that Walsh said Miami, NY and Brooklyn will all be better this year. Add Chicago and Boston to that mix and you will see why some of us keep saying that as they are right now, the Pacers are a fifth or sixth seed. An injury to any of the teams could change all of that and make the Pacers higher or lower....... ... Shift+R improves the quality of this image. CTRL+F5 reloads the whole page.